Feature Story: Mitch-Hill Dairy & Creamery

Dream in Progress

Hard work and family effort has made a lifelong dream a reality for the Mitchell family

-By Rose Morian

Every person has a dream; ask any child what they dream of being one day and they always have an answer. Often these dreams change as we grow, and unfortunately sometimes they are beaten into submission or squelched to the point that we hardly remember what they were. But, when you foster a dream and don’t give up, even when nothing seems to be happening, when you keep pursuing that dream, good things start to happen, in you as well as around you. That’s how the Mitchell family, owners and operators of Mitch-Hill Dairy and Creamery in Venus, PA are living their dreams as they come to fruition. Lance and Gayle Mitchell knew from the beginning that they wanted to bottle their own milk, but the road would turn out to be even longer than they expected. After graduating from Penn State University, Lance went to work at a 500-cow dairy on the east coast. It was a learning experience, and helped shape the dream farm Lance wanted to pursue. While he enjoyed the experience, “I knew that a big herd was not for me,” Lance explained. He and Gayle also knew they wanted to move closer to home near family to raise their children. Hours and hours of time were spent around veteran farmers’ kitchen tables, discussing the sale of farms in the area. Yet, every time they felt they were getting somewhere, the proposition would fall through and leave them to begin again. Still, they didn’t give up. It would prove to be good training for their future pursuit of creating their own milk market. Finally, a local farmer who knew they were looking for a farm to begin their journey, called them. This time, he came to their kitchen table, and they sat around it and talked the deal over. The

property was beside Lance’s parents, and finally, everything fell into place. Lance and Gayle started milking in 1995 in a double-three pit parlor that was built in 1972. They raised three children on the farm, Chase, Quinn, and Caine, who are all three graduates of Penn State University. While Chase and his family (wife, Virginia and children Romy and Griffin) have made a home in Kennett Square, PA where he works at Walmoore Holsteins, Caine and Quinn are still involved at Mitch-Hill. The boys worked at the Penn State Dairy Barns and were active in the Dairy Science Club and Quinn was an intern at Berkey Creamery and After close to 15 years of a member of the Dairy Foods Judging Team. Quinn ups, downs, and almost, graduated with a Food Science major to prepare her the Mitchell Family found for the start of their own creamery. Caine worked as a route truck driver for a few year and then stepped a new path through which away to focus on the creamery. Nearly a decade to pursue their dream. passed until the creamery finally got started. “That’s how close we were at that time.” Gayle explained. Much like with purchasing a farm, they got close several times, before it would fall through, leaving them to take the knowledge gleaned and start over. After close to 15 years of ups, downs, and almost, the Mitchell family found a new path through which to pursue their dream. Don’s Dairy Supply, of South Kortright, NY, had a prototype for a fully functional creamery housed within a shipping container. The Mitchell family saw pictures of the prototype container, and the gears in their mind started turning. Then something extraordinary happened; much like when the farmer sought Lance and Gayle out, the local bank contacted them. The bank knew they had been pursuing their dream of bottling milk for years, “They came alongside us and said, ‘how can we make

this happen?’” Lance explained, “Small business helping small business.” A grant was also awarded them, which helped pay for the container and appealed to the bank. For many, it can be difficult to take that step for a loan not knowing how the business will turn out, but Lance smiled and explained his logic, “Money is just a tool, you pick it up and use it.” About three months after seeing the container creamery prototype, Gayle called Don’s Dairy Supply to order a shipping container creamery of their own. By this time, Don’s Dairy Supply had a wait list, as it takes some time to outfit the shipping containers. Each shipping container is custom built, and the Mitchells ” worked with Don’s Dairy Supply to get theirs just right, specifying where they wanted doors, windows, and even the outside color of the container, and collaborating on equipment, and layout. This container was the first one with the cooler located inside to store the products once they’re packaged, truly making it a “one-stop-shop”. It also features a 100-gallon pasteurizer on wheels to make it convenient for when they move up to a larger one. When Don’s Dairy Supply finished the container, they loaded it on a semi-trailer and it was hauled down to the farm. A crane lifted it off the trailer and placed it next to the milk house. An old bulk tank was placed on top over a couple added support beams to hold the coolant water that circulates through a pipe cooler to help bring the milk down to 40 degrees once it’s been pasteurized. The Mitchell family then added on to the barn, an enclosed lean-to to cover the container and protect the bulk tank housed on top. Gayle had always wanted a store front, and after 15 years of waiting, she had a pretty good idea of what she wanted to see. Lance knew what he wanted in the creamery, and worked with the construction crew to make Gayle’s storefront dream a reality. As he said, trusting your vision to someone else in construction can sometimes lead to tearing something apart and redoing it. Together they worked to make sure the permanent reality matched the vision they had in mind for both the creamery and the storefront. The Mitchell family also relied on the expertise from the Center for Dairy Excellence, as well as their USDA inspector, when it came to the finer details of owning and operating a creamery. Labeling became more of an issue than they expected, as Gayle explained that the regulations cover the spectrum, from specifying “Milk” be the largest print to prohibiting some wording, such as “Farm Fresh” and “Classic.” The labeling process started with them coming up with a label, their USDA inspector looking over it and pointing out any flaws they may have, then he would pass it along up to the powers that be to approve it or send it back for changes. Once the container was set and ready to go, the USDA inspector had to give it the passing grade. Then, in January of 2021, Mitch-Hill Dairy and Creamery bottled their first batch of milk. It takes four hours per batch, and flavored milk has a slightly different process than white because of the added sugars in the flavoring. The Mitchell family said they usually bottle two days a week, about 10 percent of their total milk production right now, and one of those days they have it worked out in shifts to run three batches. “Laborious, that’s

the word you’re looking for,” is what Caine said when asked what the cleaning process looks like for the creamery. After processing, each union gets torn apart and cleaned, each pipe has the pipe brush run through it, and the utmost precautions are taken to make sure every piece of the creamery is sanitary. The record keeping is similarly extensive; keeping charts tracking the pasteurization of every batch of milk, as well as tracking inventory, orders, and more. The USDA inspector comes every quarter, checking to make sure the temperature gauges are correct and everything is in order. They have a good Most inspectors are good people that don’t want you “ working relationship with the inspector, as Lance explained, “Most inspectors are good people that don’t want you to get in trouble.” to get in trouble. When asked what changes have had to be implemented because of how the creamery affects the farm, the answers were severalfold. As Gayle pointed out, there is no way to add hours to the day, and the farm is still the farm. Adding on top of that, Gayle, Quinn, and Caine all currently have jobs off the farm. Also, in addition to selling milk from their small store, their milk is carried in nearly a dozen local stores. Gayle said that they used to take two half-days a week to deliver, going in opposite directions each day, but they are condensing that into one full day. Another change they made was hiring high school kids to help with milkings, giving them milking help from outside the family for the first time since they started farming. They also reduced their herd size, milking only 45 cows now. They explained that they tried to staff the store consistently for set hours, but have given up and now also employ the honor system for when they’re unable to have someone in the

The inside of the creamery, showing the bottler and capper on the left, as well as the pasteurizer vat at the end, and sinks on the opposite wall. The cooler is located behind the camera.

store. This has been met with very positive results. “We’ve had people come up the drive at 11 at night,” Gayle said, “that’s a sale we wouldn’t have had otherwise… We have people sometimes say they’re a little short and will catch us later, and they’re always good for it, or sometimes they’ll pay ahead.”

It’s this amicable attitude that has helped make Mitch-Hill a Gayle’s response was immediate, heartfelt, “ success. When asked what their favorite or most rewarding part of the and potent, process to date is, Gayle was quick ”‘Don’t give up!’ to answer it’s when people realize how good milk tastes. She takes samples with her to farmers markets and local festivities, and she loves opening the eyes of people to how good milk can be. It’s a way to bring good attention to the dairy industry and promote the product that has been demeaned and devalued through fad diets and flawed data. Gayle said in January she will be taking milk to the school where she teaches, and she’s excited to have the kids try it. Caine said that his favorite part is that he and

Quinn talked about the creamery their family would be starting for all those years, and now they can talk about the creamery that is a reality. As the interview ended, they shared advice they would give to others looking to diversify. Gayle’s response was immediate, heartfelt, and potent, “Don’t give up.” Lance added, “Keep leaning forward.” He went on to explain that no matter what setbacks you may encounter, don’t let it stop you or push you back too far, keep leaning into the process and eventually something will give. Lance and Gayle told the story of getting their delivery truck. Lance walked into the house one day and

Gayle told him she had put a bid in on a truck she thought would work for deliveries. Two days later, she told him her bid had won. Next she mentioned the truck was in Arkansas. They arranged to have the truck hauled home and it showed up around 10:00 on Thanksgiving evening. They have been using it ever since.

The Mitchell family’s faith has perhaps been the driving force in the whole endeavor, and they believe they are in the

Some of the many labels the Mitchell family has in stock waiting to be applied to future products. The bottles are currently labeled by hand, one at a time. One future purchase will be an applicator to improve labeling efficiency. position they are now due to God’s blessing and perfect timing. They are also grateful for the help and support from others: the neighbor that helps with crops, and Gayle’s parents, who took over going to farmers markets when Gayle went back to teaching school this fall. They also said Don’s Dairy Supply kept an eye on their Facebook page, and actually did a shout-out to them. “It was really neat to know they cared about us and were watching our progress,” Lance said, noting the personal connection and relationship they built through the process of designing the container. Another small business helping small business. Mitch-Hill Dairy and Creamery may be young, but there is a promising future ahead for this family and their business. Their combination of love for the farm and each other, and passion for the creamery implies no end in sight, and Caine’s two young daughters, Farryn and Freya, will grow up knowing the farm and the creamery. While they only bottle milk right now, they have ideas and plans to start with other products in the near future. 2020 may be remembered around the world for the pandemic, but in this family, it will be remembered as the year their dreams became a reality. If you’re ever in the area of Venus, be sure to stop by Mitch-Hill dairy and meet the Mitchell family, try some of their milk, and check out their creamery, I can guarantee it’s worth the stop. u

Right: A bottle of Mitch-Hill milk in front of the coveyor belt on the capper. The caps travel up the belt at a steep angle to ensure they load in the capper correctly. When applied to the bottle, the capper turns until it reaches a specific torque pressure and stops, making sure every bottle is capped properly and uniformly. (Photo courtesy of Mitch-Hill Dairy & Creamery)